It has been a strong showing for USA weightlifting at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Over the weekend, Team USA earned their 100th Pan American Games medal thanks to a bronze medal performance from -81kg Harrison Maurus.
The medal count surely didn’t stop at 100, though. Team USA went on to earn five total medals at the Pan American Games a feat that hasn’t been done since 1999. To highlight Sarah Robles’ latest strong performance and the rest of Team USA, we wanted to provide a quick recap of the competition.
Pan American Games Recap
Wes Kitts dominated the -109kg weight category, and brought home a gold medal. And in the -76kg, -64kg, and -81kg weight classes, Kate Nye, Mattie Sasser, and Harrison Maurus took home bronze medals, respectively.
On Tuesday, Sarah Robles put on a performance that could best be described as icing on the cake for Team USA. The reigning Pan American Champion in the +87kg weight class went on to defend her title. Robles missed her opening snatch of 120kg, but bounced back and even moved up in weight to successfully make a 125kg third attempt. She then went on to go three for three in clean & jerks finishing with 159kg for a 284kg total.
Her lifts looked like this:
- Snatch: 125kg
- Clean & Jerk: 159kg
- Total: 284kg
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She caught up with USA weightlifting after her performance and talked about how confident she felt stepping onto the platform.
“I was in really good shape coming into this competition, so I knew I could lift whatever was put on the bar. I had to come from behind because I missed my first snatch, but I know that my leg strength isn’t matched by the other athletes,” Robles said in a press release.
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Final Medal Count
- Mattie Sasser (-64kg): Bronze Medal
- Kate Nye (-76kg): Bronze Medal
- Harrison Maurus (-81kg): Bronze Medal
- Wes Kitts (-109kg): Gold Medal
- Sarah Robles (+87kg): Gold Medal
The Pan American Games were a silver level qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and with five total medals won, it’s clear just how competitive the making of the Olympic roster will be for Team USA in the next few months.
So what’s next for Team USA? In September, the 2019 Weightlifting World Championships will take place in Pattaya, Thailand.
Editor’s Note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. The two organizations maintain editorial independence unless otherwise noted on specific content projects.
Featured image from @usa_weightlifting Instagram page.
